Vic - minus the snow

By Charlie Summerbell
December 1 2010

The bad weather has caused the postponement of Hartlepool United’s League One home game against Southampton on Saturday, and dozens of others up and down the country will probably follow. But there’s some red-hot action going on off the pitch as the long drawn-out negotiations between club and council for the purchase of Victoria Park threaten to plunge the club into a crisis far deeper than anything they’ve endured on the pitch in recent years.

Club owners IOR and club chairman Ken Hodcroft (right) are clearly fed-up with what they perceive as the Hartlepool Council’s attitude in the negotiations and are now threatening to withdraw the cash support they plough into the club.
And with low attendances linked to the world economic climate, that could spell financial collapse at the club.
In his statement, which will be presented to shareholders at the annual meeting,, Hodcroft makes a thinly veiled threat to the council – get your heads round a deal, or risk losing the club.
Mind, a civic centre wikileak tells us that the council is just as fed up with the club's attitude.
The statement, reproduced in full on the club website, says: “It is now obvious the council do not realise that the owners do not have unlimited patience. The attitude towards IOR and the club beggars belief.
“Statements … show the council fail to recognise just what the owners have done for this town and club. Promises made to me personally and the club/owners in general have not been honoured.
“The owners have invested millions into this football club ; the council have done nothing to help.
“Consequently, unless the council recognise their failings and the consequences of their actions and look realistically at what the club and owners require and are trying to achieve – for the benefit of the town – the owners will need to carefully evaluate the economic model for the future of the club.
“If financial support is withdrawn from (we presume here that he means ‘by’) the owners, then the club will disappear from League One (and possibly beyond) and the council have to answer to the townspeople who elected them.”
That’s fighting talk in any language, but the chances are that many on the council are just as fed up as KH is.
To make matters as bleak as the weather, Hodcroft adds that poor support “does not bode well for the future, along with the council’s attitude”
Meanwhile, on the football front, the chairman could be accused of lacking ambition (or being realistic) when he says:  “We still believe we are in a position to remain in League One, based on the players we have in place and if we make full use of all our resources.
“However, the current economic climate will greatly restrict spending on players, the football dept in gen and club facilities.”
The club’s operating loss in 2009 was £1.1m, the same as in 2008 and the owners provided £1.5m in 2009. IOR’s total investment over a dozen years of owning the club is £12m.
on team management, KH says: “The position of first team manager will remain vacant for the time being. Mick Wadsworth will remain as first team coach.”
Incredibly, he also reveals that former chief exec Russ Green, who left along with Chris Turner at the start of the season, “has been helping on some major projects.”
Like buying the Vic from the council?